Gus was walking through the forest when a rustle in a nearby bush caught his attention. Before he could act, a pair of Nuzleaf, followed by a small Seedot, walked out onto the path and began making strange motions. Before he could react, Aeris let out a piercing shriek and swooped to attack. The Nuzleaf evaded, and began attacking!

A buzzing sound drew Gus' attention. To his consternation, four Beedrills appeared in an ambush. Gus surmised that these were likely related to the swarm of Beedrill that he and Jasmine had butchered, probably out for revenge. Gus let out a soft curse as he remembered that Jasmine had stayed behind at the ranch today to mind a concoction he was brewing. Resigning himself to a difficult fight, as the bees looked rather strong, he beckoned Aeris and braced himself.

Irritated at the Beedrills who managed to faint Aeris and worried that the unconscious ones may seek revenge on him later, Gus took out his Rambo hunting knife and butchered the three unconscious bees, before stuffing all of them into his "ingredients container" and then hightailing it back to the ranch.

Story Text:Gus decided to go on a nighttime jaunt around the forest outskirts, intending to search for some phosphorescent forest mushrooms.According to his research, they were effective in boosting certain Pokemon abilities. So he searched among the tree roots, Flutter hovering nearby to provide a soft but weak light.

Gus gave a small cry of triumph upon spotting some mushrooms. When he tried to pick it, it attempted to bite him. He managed to withdraw his hand quick enough to see that what he thought were mushrooms was actually a small family of Paras!

Taking out a smaller knife and his ingredients container, Gus carefully removed the mushroom caps from the unconscious Paras, and then took some spore scrapings from the Parasects. After this, he quickly headed back to the ranch.

Gus smiled to himself as he waved goodbye to Fro Zenbrain. Two weeks ago, he had rescued the Water/Ice Ace Trainer from dying a chilling death at Regice's lair, and the slightly eccentric trainer had repaid him by giving him several items (among them his cherished Rambo Knife) and the open offer of a free Surf ride to anywhere around Hoenn. Gus had cashed in this favor recently, having Fro take him to Dewford Town, where he had battled and defeated Brawly for the Knuckle Badge, and then back to Lilycove.

He smiled wider to himself. During the trip, Luke had called him up and proposed a multi-trade. Apparently the Mystic was up to his eyeballs in Eevee pups and was more than willing to accept what Gus could offer in return. So he had given away Appie (Kakuna), Jellia (Tentacool), and Rex (Goldeen), and had acquired in return a trio of female Eevees. Already he was considering what he should evolve them into. Perhaps a type that would fix any holes in his team?

In addition, the trip had become even more fruitful as he had continued his tutorials to his team, with the result that both Mariposa and Aeris were now significantly smarter. While he was away, news from the ranch was also well and good. He had left Belladonna in charge of caring for Lola, and the Rose Pokemon had reported that Lola was responding somewhat positively to the latest treatment that he had given her. His mother had also called to inform him that the egg he had acquired from his little sojourn in Petalburg two weeks ago had finally hatched into a female Trapinch.

Yes, Gus had good cause to smile widely as he walked back from Lilycove Port and towards the Ranch.

"Arevalo speaking. Ms. Winstrate! How are you doing? Got a mission for me?"

"Not yet, Gus. I received the update to your Trainer status. Congratulations on earning your third badge. I am pleased to inform you that your suspension is being lifted and you are being promoted to the rank of Senior Investigator. Keep up the good work, Mr. Arevalo. You are a credit to our organization."

"Wow. Thanks."

"As an aside, I have heard that you have taken an interest in the pharmaceutical sciences?"

"Ah, yes. Lola had a remission. We don't exactly have the money to pay for her treatments, so I thought I'd put my brain to work trying to find a cure for her as well."

"I see. I presume you understand why we were unable to tell you earlier?"

"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. I don't plan on going after him until I manage to cure Lola. I'm not the only one deserving of revenge."

"I see. Mr. Arevalo, I would like to remind you that Miracle Eye policy dictates suspension if you are caught with a deadly weapon."

"What's that supposed to mean, Vivi?" Gus' voice became tinged with something else, and his hand involuntarily clutched the handle of the hunting knife strapped to his belt.

"It means either don't get caught or get to Agent rank before you do anything, Gus. Now, since at Sr. Investigator you are allowed to carry non-lethal weapons, will you be requisitioning for one or will you be supplying your own?"

Gus let out a long breath. "I'd like to requisition for a tranquilizer rifle, Ms. Winstrate."

"Very well. I'll have it sent by Delibird to your family ranch. I assume that's where you're staying?"

"Mm-hm. I'm working on a few trial cures for Lola, her condition's getting a bit better."

"Alright. Winstrate out."

The call ended, and Gus closed his eyes and let out another exhale. He felt a touch on his arm and turned to Amber.

Gus lay in bed, pondering the past month. It had been surprisingly quiet, mission-wise. Taking advantage of the downtime, he had put his newly-developed Scientific skills to work, churning out batches of Super Potions and Hyper Potions for use at the Ranch and for his own private stock. He continued to work on a cure for Lola's rabbit pneumonia, and although he had managed to find a concoction that seemed to mitigate the worst of her symptoms, he was still no closer to finding a permanent cure.

Then there was also the troubling information that he had learned. While Lola had become well enough to talk to him about the events of his sister's death - as well as giving him a description of her killer - Gus recognized that the person responsible was, for now, well out of his reach. So he simply plotted and planned, all the while teaching his Pokemon, mixing his medicines, and training with the tranquilizer rifle he had requisitioned from MEA.

On the tutoring front, he had managed to teach Aeris (Pidgeotto), Bloom (Gloom), and Mariposa (Butterfree) how to speak English, as well as tutoring Bartholomew (Cranidos), Felicity (Skitty), and Tala (Ledyba). The Arevalo Ranch was now becoming somewhat of a local curiosity as "that place near Lilycove where the bugs an' birds an' plants done talk to yer."

Still, his parents did not seem to mind, as many of his more intelligent Pokemon had taken to helping around the ranch, providing a guiding and nurturing presence for the baby Pokemon being raised there as well as doing some of the other duties that would have otherwise required another human. It was now no longer unusual to see Flutter answer the telephone, or find Bloom and Bella sitting in front of the television and discussing the latest fashion. Aeris had even taken to learning and singing songs from the radio as a way of practicing her speech.

♫Is this the real life...♫♫Is this just fantasy...♫♫Caught in a landslide...♫♫No escape from reality...♫

As he fell asleep to Aeris' rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, with Amber snuggled to his left and Jasmine on his right, Gus could not help but feel that perhaps their quiet time would soon be coming to an end.

Story Text:A day after finishing with the whole Trembley Affair, we find Gus walking leisurely down Route 5 to Lumiose City. He had asked for, and been given, leave to stay at Kalos for a couple of days. Ostensibly, it was to help him come to terms with the bloodbath he had been "forced" to conduct during the previous mission. In reality, he was looking to train and maybe catch a few new additions to his team. The series of Pokemon battles the previous day had shown him that his team, while exceptionally strong in some areas, was also rather terribly unbalanced. While he would never even consider neglecting his 'girls', a little bit more variety would not go amiss. He also needed to get some physically-strong Pokemon as well, and so he was with a few of the more Attack-oriented members of his team, looking to level them up.

While he was walking down the road, Aeris singing (♫So she said what's the problem baby/what's the problem I don't know/well maybe I'm in love♫) while flying overhead, he heard a noise and some rustling ahead. Turning a corner, he came upon a rather curious sight.

Three Pokemon, a Pancham and two Pangoro, were standing in the middle of the road.The Pancham was apparently attempting to convince the two older Pokemon about something, although the other two were clearly reluctant to believe him. As Gus stood there wondering what was going on, the Pancham spotted him and started pointing at him and talking rapidly.

Aeris landed next to Gus and started to translate.

He wants to prove to his parents that he's strong enough to go out into the world on his own. He's asking for a match.

Gus thought things over for a while, then smirked.

"Tell him that I'll give him a match, but that if I win I get to catch him, train him, and make him strong."

Aeris translated his proposal to the waiting Pancham and its parents. Gus saw the Pancham's eyes light up in glee when the proposal was laid out. After a while, both Pangoro nodded and stood to the side. Gus' smile widened as he grabbed Bartholomew's pokeball.

"Excellent. Let's do this, Barty!"

[Encounter Begins!]Speeds:Bartholomew Lv14 - 9Pancham Lv 13 - 5

Turn 1:Bartholomew used Leer! AC10! Pancham's DEF went down by 1 stage!Pancham used Work Up! AC19! Pancham's ATK and SATK went up by 1 stage!

Bartholomew appeared in a flash of light. Seeing the bear cub in front of it, he sent it a leer to lower its Defenses. The Pancham shivered at the look, but began to Work Up, raising its Attack.

Bartholomew lowered its head and charged in with a Headbutt. The Pancham was unable to move out of the way in time and took the attack head-on. Even Gus could not hold back a wince as Bartholomew's attack sent the bear cub flying several feet away. It tumbled to a stop and lay there, obviously dazed and unable to fight any longer. Seeing that its opponent was almost unconscious, Bartholomew obediently trotted back to stand in front of Gus.

Gus turned to the Pangoros. The bigger one had a paw over its face and was shaking its head in disappointment, while the other one looked worried. Noticing his questioning stare, the Pangoros seemed to flinch in indecision for a moment, before the bigger one waved a paw as if saying "Go ahead." Gus gave a respectful nod and walked over to the still dazed Pancham. He crouched over to it and pulled out a Pokeball.

"You lost, little guy. You know what that means."

The Pancham shook its head to clear it, before looking over to its parents. The bigger Pangoro gave a sharp nod. The Pancham seemed to deflate. It got up, wobbled over to the two Pangoros, and hugged them both, before shakily making its way back to Gus and giving him a look that said "I'm ready." Gus gave him a smile in response.

"Don't worry little guy. I'll make you strong enough that you won't be beaten that badly again."

The Pokeball beeped quietly, signifying a capture. Gus stood up to leave, but found his way blocked by the two Pangoro. The bigger one was smirking at him. They let out a few barks. Gus turned to Aeris, who had sequestered herself in a nearby tree and was softly singing (♫Follow me everything is alright/I'll be the one to tuck you in at night/If you wanna leave I can guarantee/You won't find nobody else like me♫).

They want to fight. They won't let you catch them, but they still want to fight.

Gus nodded in acknowledgement and stepped back, Bartholomew standing once more in front of him. The smaller Pangoro stepped forward with a growl.

Both combatants flew backwards at the impact. The Pangoro was clearly the worse off, but Gus could see that Bartholomew was also on his last legs after that clash. Making a split second decision, Gus recalled the embattled Cranidos and sent out Bambi.

Seeing the two Pangoros were knocked unconscious, Gus quickly recalled Bambi and hightailed it out before the bears woke up and decided to change their mind about letting their cub travel with him. He made a mental note that the next time he was in Kalos, he would bring the newly-nicknamed Bando back here, to let them see how strong he had gotten.

Story Text:Having escaped the Pangoro, Gus stopped by a stream and decided to settle down for lunch. Unfortunately, his sandwich attracted the attention of certain Pokemon. Soon enough, several bushes rustled nearby just as Gus was about to take a bite from his Super Salad Sandwich. Gus turned to find...

Turn 1:Bambi used Jump Kick! AC19! Bambi dealt 35 damage to Bunnelby B! After defense, weakness and resistance, Bambi dealt 60 damage to Bunnelby B! Bambi dealt 200% damage! Bunnelby B died!Diggersby B used Leer! AC5! Bambi's Defense went down by 1!Diggersby A used Leer! AC7! Bambi's Defense went down by 1!Bunnelby A used Agility! AC12! Bunnelby's Speed went up by 1!

Bambi went into the fight with gusto, bounding up and then coming down on one of the Bunnelbys, its front hooves glowing for a Jump Kick. The fawn's front hooves smashed into the Bunnelby's skull, and there was a disturbing crack as Bambi's weight and attack snapped the rabbit's neck backwards. The older rabbits sent angry looks at Bambi, while the smaller one started to try and escape.

Bambi quickly faded out of sight in a Faint Attack, and the last Bunnelby suddenly keeled over unconscious. Unfortunately, Bambi reappeared much too close to the two now irate Diggersbys, and took a Tackle and a Double Slap attack, although he was quick enough to dodge after getting hit by the first smack of the rabbit's overlarge ears.

Bambi leapt up in another Jump Kick, taking one Diggersby right on the chin and knocking it out. Unfortunately, the other Diggersby charged up in a Take Down, dealing grievous damage to the Deerling. Gus tsked and readied Bartholomew's pokeball.

Twin beams of light lashed out, returning the staggering Deerling to his Pokeball and replacing him with the hardheaded Cranidos. No sooner had Barty appeared, however, than the remaining Diggersby suddenly rushed him in a Quick Attack. Bartholomew was pushed back for a bit, but it clearly didn't do much damage. Pissed, the little dinosaur lowered its head in a Head Butt and charged, taking the Diggersby right in the chest and sending it flying back.

Turn 5:Diggersby used Leer! AC17! Bartholomew's Defense went down by 1!Bartholomew used Take Down! AC15! Bartholomew dealt 72 damage! After defense, weakness, and resistance, Diggersby received 54 damage! Diggersby was knocked out!

The Diggersby sent a dark look at Bartholomew. The Head Butt Pokemon stared defiantly right back for a moment, before lowering his head and charging in for a Take Down. Injured from the early Headbutt, the rabbit could not avoid Bartholomew's second charge. The rock-hard helmet of the Cranidos' skull connected with the Diggersby's face and took it down for the count.

Gus shook his head at the sight of the four collapsed rabbits. By the unnatural angle of one of the Bunnelby's neck, he suspected that that one was already dead. He finished his sandwich and continued on his way to Lumiose City.

Gus relaxed on the bed in his hotel room at Lumiose City. All of his "girls" aside from Amber were in their Pokeballs, the hotel having a strict 1 Active Pokemon per Trainer rule. Amber, as usual, was snuggled into his side.

It had been an interesting day, having captured a Pancham, buffed up a few of his Pokemon, and then shopped for a few TMs at South Boulevard. He had then spent the rest of the day making pills.

Tomorrow there would be a flight to Hoenn from Lumiose, and despite being given leave, he intended to be on that plane. It would not be landing at Lilycove, but instead would be headed to Sootopolis. He planned on challenging the gym there, which as he recalled was a Water specialty Gym. He grinned, knowing that Bloom, Belladonna, and even Flutter and Jasmine had moves in their repertoire ready for that. That grin just as soon faded away as he remembered that he still needed to expand his team's typing and repertoire. Perhaps it was time to look at other types aside from Bug and Grass...

Gus stared at the Evolutionary Stones sitting in front of him. He had been carrying them around for quite some time, undecided on whom to use them on, or even whether he should use them at all.

The primary Stone on his mind was the Sun Stone that he had purchased from Tenran some time ago. While he knew that he could use it to evolve his Gloom, he had a feeling that it might be a wasted effort. Bloom had given him note that she preferred to help out at the ranch instead of join him on his missions. The fact that she had given such a poor performance at the Sootopolis Gym only further reinforced the fact that perhaps the Weed Pokemon was better suited as one of the caretakers on his parents' ranch, instead of a member of his battle team.

The other two stones were a Water Stone and a Thunder Stone. He had no idea what he was going to do with those two. He had no electric or water type pokemon that he particularly cared to use. He knew that both those types would be useful additions to his team, but at the moment he saw no particular need to get them. Nor did he have a suitable candidate that he wanted to catch and acquire.

As he stared at the three stones glinting in the sun, he became aware of a series of yipping barks. He turned to their direction and saw to his amusement that the three Eevee triplets that he had gotten in trade from Luke several months ago were rambunctiously rolling and playing around. Despite his previous deep thoughts, watching the three puppy-like pokemon run and play brought a smile to his face.

That smile turned into a frozen look of horror when the trio leapt towards him, right on top of the evolutionary stones. When the blinding light brought about by three simultaneous evolutions had died down, he blinked several times and looked at the Espeon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon sitting at his feet.

Well, that pretty much solved the question of what he was going to do with the Stones, at the very least.

Although he had acquired them quite by accident, after some thought Gus realized that the Eeveelutions would fit in nicely with his team's looks and style. Thus, he was now out in the forest, looking for a match that would let him see whether or not these three new Pokemon would do well as battlers. By his experience, though, it would be best to fight strong enemies to see if his new ladies would stand their ground or run and retreat.

Turn 2!Trainer Action: Gus recalled Tina and sent out Mina (Lv5 Espeon, Spd 12)!Aeris used Air Cutter on Pinsir C! AC11! Aeris dealt 56 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Pinsir C took 90 damage! Pinsir C was knocked out!Mina used Charm on Pinsir B! AC14! Pinsir B's Attack went down by 2!Pinsir B used Brick Break on Aeris! AC3! It missed!Pinsir A used Focus Energy! Pinsir A is getting pumped!

Turn 3!Trainer Action: Gus recalled Mina and sent out Rina (Lv5 Jolteon, Spd 14)!Aeris used Air Cutter on Pinsir B! AC16! Aeris dealt 53 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Pinsir B took 88 damage! Pinsir B was knocked out!Rina used Tackle on Pinsir A! AC14! Rina dealt 20 damage! After defense, weakness, and resistance, Pinsir A took 4 damage!Pinsir A used Focus Energy! Pinsir A is getting pumped!

Turn 4!Trainer Action: Gus threw a Basic Ball at Pinsir A! CR17! It was so close! Pinsir A got out!Aeris used Air Cutter on Pinsir A! AC14! Aeris dealt 44 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Pinsir A took 68 damage! Pinsir A was knocked out!

Gus smiled as the Jolteon chewed and then swallowed the special meal he had given her. Not only was it healthy and suited for her tastes, he had also boosted it with 4 of his specialized Tigerheart Vitamins to pump up her Attack. Tina the Vaporeon had gotten something similar, only hers had 4 Quickheart Vitamins to boost the mermaid-like Pokemon's Speed. He had then given 2 Heartleaf Vitamins to boost Jasmine's HP, and 2 more Quickheart Vitamins to boost Amber's already ridiculous Speed. Amber had also gotten one of his "Baby One More Time" Frequency Pills, just so that she could use her Super Friendship Finishers™ more often.

Even as his girls were eating, he was already calculating the cost for another set of 6 Offense Pills, 6 Body Pills, and 1 Frequency Pill and how long it would take for him to make them. Jasmine having read his mind was already preparing the necessary ingredients...

Story Text:Once more, Gus was out and about the woods, looking to train his Eeveelutions. A rustle near some leaves caught his attention, and on a whim he picked up a rock and threw it into some trees.

A small family of Leavanny, Swadloon, and a single Sewaddle came out of the trees. The Sewaddle had a mark on its forehead from where it was hit by the rock. The Leavanny saw him and began making angry noises.

Turn 3:Trainer Action! Gus throws a Basic Ball at Swadloon A (roll 25 or lower to capture!) CR 33! Swadloon A broke free!Aeris used Air Cutter on Leavanny B! AC14! Aeris dealt 48 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Leavanny B took 132 damage! Leavanny B was knocked out!Tina used Charm on Swadloon B! AC10! Swadloon B's attack went down by 2!Swadloon B used Razor Leaf on Tina! AC2! It missed!Swadloon A used String Shot on Aeris! AC7! Aeris' speed went down by 1!

Turn 4:Trainer Action! Gus throws a Basic Ball at Swadloon A (roll 25 or lower to capture!) CR 27! Swadloon A broke free!Aeris used Air Cutter on Swadloon B! AC10! Aeris dealt 58 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Swadloon B took 176 damage! Swadloon B took 300% damage and died!Tina used Tackle on Swadloon A! AC10! Tina dealt 21 damage! After defense, weakness, and resistance, Swadloon A took 4 damage!Swadloon A used Razor Leaf on Aeris! AC10! Swadloon A dealt 21 damage! After defense, weakness, and resistance, Aeris took 6 damage!

Turn 5:Trainer Action! Gus throws a Basic Ball at Swadloon A (roll 25 or lower to capture!) CR 48! Swadloon A broke free!Aeris used Air Cutter on Swadloon A! AC8! Aeris dealt 47 damage! After special defense, weakness, and resistance, Swadloon A took 132 damage! Swadloon A took 300% damage and died!

Story Text:Carrying a varied and bundled team, with Aeris flying overhead and Amber shadowing him a few ways off, Gus wandered around through the woods. Coming to a clearing, he reached into his bag and brought out a small vial filled with a clear fluid. Uncorking it, he poured the contents on the ground and waited.

Enamored by the smell of the attractant, four burly Raticates and a pair of Rattata emerged from the treeline. The biggest one took one look at Gus, hissed, and leapt forward, but was intercepted by Amber, who appeared out of nowhere in front of the large rodent.

After Amber and Bando had rendered the rodents insensate, Gus took out another vial and poured it on the exact spot that he had poured the attractant, neutralizing it. He then went on to the next clearing.

Story Text:Still waiting for both a mission and for the two Pokemon eggs he had at the Ranch to hatch - the one he got from Unova was very close, he could feel it! - Gus resumed wandering around the woods, hoping to train his team. On a whim, he kicked a rock that was lying on the path. The pebble flew off into the bushes and struck something.

Three large mantis-like bugs stepped from the foliage. One of them was rubbing its head. It took one look at Gus and let out an angry "SCYTHE!". Gus let out a whistle, and Aeris dropped in from out of the sky and trilled out an answering battlecry.

Story Text:Fresh from the interdimensional portal hijinks yesterday, Gus had hitched a ride from Poni Island to MeleMele Island, and checked into a hotel at Hau'oli City. While there, he had managed to overhear a group of locals preparing to go to a place called Melemele Meadow to gather nectar of some kind. Through liberal use of his naturally charismatic personality, he had managed to get an invite to their outing. Now, he was wandering around a veritable sea of yellow flowers, while his newfound acquaintances gathered their nectar.

Sweet scent, he mused, would probably be useless here as the overpowering smell of the flowers would mask any other aroma he could use. And so he just wandered around, until...

... a stray breeze blew a load of pollen into his nose, triggering a sneeze. Unfortunately, his sneeze disturbed a nearby flower bed. To his surprise, four of the most adorable things he had ever seen, looking like a cross between a bee and a fly with a massive dose of cuteness, flew up from the flower bed and started buzzing around his head in an annoyed manner. Taking out his Pokedex, he confirmed that they were indeed, Cutieflies, and were precisely what he came to catch. Thinking that they were probably not that strong due to their tiny size, he sent out his Nidoran-M, Javier. The little creatures let out another buzz, then flew opposite his pokemon and got into formation.

Story Text:Gus continued wandering around MeleMele Meadow. While he had achieved his intended goal already of catching a Cutiefly, he very quickly realized that the locals with whom he had hitched a ride here were intending to stay for the entire morning, and being that he had no idea how to get back to Hau'oli City on foot, Gus opted to stay and see if he could find any other pokemon to add to his catch list.

Hearing a sound come from a nearby flowerbed, he moved some blossoms aside to find...

... a bunch of what first appeared to be tiny green sprigs buried near the flower roots. Brushing them aside, however, caused them to reveal themselves to be five Petilil. The little plant Pokemon popped up out of the ground and began making annoyed noises. Gus sent out Javier.

Two more captures, both pretty Bulb Pokemon that with some TLC, would hopefully blossom to two wonderful flowers. Truly, it was inspiring!

Gus' arm detached again. Grumbling in consternation, he went over to the locals, who were in the process of packing up and heading back to Hau'oli. Hopefully, he could catch a seaplane back to Kanto within the day, then from there charter either a boat or another seaplane back to Hoenn.

After an hour at the Lavaridge Hot Springs to relax himself and soothe some lingering aches around his right shoulder brought about by exploding Turtonators, Gus found himself navigating his way through Fiery Path. Trotting along beside him was Matilda the Fennekin, out and about on her first excursion out of the farm.

Gus was quiet while walking, thinking deeply about how he wanted to proceed from this point on. Having won his sixth badge from Madam Flannery in a rather intense battle, he knew that he needed only to train two of his Pokemon up to level 50 to be eligible for Senior Operative rank. So it was that he was training in Fiery Path, looking to strengthen Aeris and Amber to meet that required quota.

A rumbling to his left alerted him that a nearby side-passage may hold the encounter he was looking for. He turned...

... and walked smack dab into the middle of a sizeable group of four Numel and four Camerupt. He'd thought about retreating, and then Matilda yipped and then bit the smallest Numel on the nose. It let out a cry, and the others began huffing and looking angrily at him. Matilda ran behind him, and Gus sighed and pulled out a Pokeball.

Gus stared, half-horrified and half-amused, at the devastation that Tina had wrought when he had ordered her to use Muddy Water. Even from a relatively safe distance away, he could feel the heat coming from the almost lahar-like substance that the Vaporeon had pulled out through the ground and sent smashing towards the huddled mass of fiery dromedaries.

Amber had only just managed to ninja-jump out of the way in time, and the Rabbit Pokemon herself was looking at Tina as if seeing her for the first time. Tina, in response, let out a burbling croon, before moving back and nuzzling Gus by the leg.

"That'll do, Tina. That'll do."

When they got back to the ranch, Gus decided, Tina was getting a Frequency pill as soon as possible.

Exiting Fiery Path after chugging down two Lemonades to heal himself, Gus headed out to Route 112, planning to make his way down to Mauville and see if he could schedule a Gym challenge with the AI Gym Leader, W-47750n 4.0. The Route itself was rather empty, something that Gus rather deplored as he wished for more opponents for training. Amber walked alongside him, one of her fluffy ears wrapped around his left hand.

Seemingly in answer to his thoughts, some bushes by the side of the path rustled...

Gus wandered about Route 117 in a somewhat melancholy mood. An early morning visit to the Gym had yielded annoying news: W-47750n 4.0 was undergoing his yearly debugging and housecleaning, and so challengers would have to leave their contact details so that they could be contacted on a later date. He had already unfortunately arrived at the tail end, with several challengers having set appointments before him, and so he was not expecting to be able to get his 7th badge any time soon.

In the meantime, he decided to stroll around the Route and get some training in before heading home. A message from MEA-HQ had come through informing him that his new arm was nearing completion, and he planned on going home later in the day to work on manufacturing pills and PokeBots.

As he walked around, a rustling noise caught his attention. He peered through some bushes some ways off the path to see...

... a large gathering of Illumise and Volbeat performing some rather impressive dancing maneuvers.

"Wow. That's really cool to see."

Unfortunately, the bugs seemed to take offense to him disturbing whatever funky dance rituals they were doing, as they began buzzing angrily and rushing at him.

"Oh shit." Fumbling at his belt, he was surprised when one of his Pokeballs opened. To his horror, it was not one of his stronger girls, but instead Zefyra the Trapinch that popped out. She let out a crooning warble of surprise.

Story Text:Gus walks around Route 120 and 121, seeking to train his Pokemon. At his feet, Matilda the Fennekin is trotting along happily, munching on a twig.

His arm was in the final stages, according to the guys at MEA-Tech labs. Several of his armament requests - plasma saber, plasma cannon, vibroblade, pain ray, coil gun - had all been denied. So far, the only concessions they had made were the built-in tools (electric screwdriver, pneumatic hammer, mini blowtorch) in each finger. It was why he had so far been spending most evenings reading up on engineering and mechanics.

"They're daft if they think I'm not going to be tinkering with my own damn arm. I don't even care if I void the warranty."

For today, he was testing out the new Radar modification he'd made to his PokeDex. Following the ping, he turned and walked into a clearing...

... three Masquerain and two Surskit, playing near the river's edge. They saw him, and immediately, the Masquerain began flashing their wing patterns to intimidate him away. Undaunted, he sent out Aeris.

Even as the Ball carrying his new Surskit was sent to the PC, Gus whistled out loud. Aeris finished eating the chunks of Surskit remaining and flew over to him. Gus returned Aeris to her Ball, then kept on walking.

Even as the newly-caught Cassandra's Pokéball was sent to the PC, Gus was already making haste to head back to the ranch. He had two new friends to be acquainted with, and if Cassandra's premonitions were right, a looming disaster to prepare for.